Joe Mercadante Promoted to Assistant Coach at Miami
July 17, 2008
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami head baseball coach Jim Morris has announced the promotion of Joe Mercadante to assistant coach. Mercadante, who has spent the previous four seasons as a volunteer assistant at UM, will continue working with hitters and catchers in addition to assisting in recruiting efforts in his new role.
“We’re very excited to have elevated Joe Mercadante to assistant coach at Miami,” Morris said. “Being able to keep such a talented coach on our staff goes a long way in continuing the tradition and success we have established here.”
Mercadante has been instrumental in helping Miami advance to four consecutive NCAA Regional appearances, which included three regional championships and two College World Series appearances. UM has averaged at least 650 hits, 450 runs, 70 home runs and 400 RBI as a team in Mercadante’s four seasons as a hitting instructor.
“I’m very thankful for the opportunity to continue my career here at Miami,” Mercadante said. “This is a first-class university and I’m looking forward to continuing to build toward more championships here. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
The 2008 UM team spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in major college baseball polls. Mercadante aided in the 2008 squad hitting .320 and hitting the second-most home runs (106) in school history. The 711 hits in 2008 were 10th all-time while the 2008 squad also ranked ninth in doubles (135), eighth in RBI (517), eighth in total bases (1,202) and fourth in slugging percentage (.541).
“I’m grateful to coach Morris for giving me such a great opportunity,” Mercadante added. “The past four years I’ve learned so much here at UM. I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the best student-athletes in the country as well as develop more and more as a coach.”
Mercadante was key in the development of first round selections Yonder Alonso, the seventh overall pick in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cincinnati Reds, and Jemile Weeks, the 12th overall pick to the Oakland A’s. Alonso’s 24 homers fell just one shy of tying the school record. Three other Hurricane hitters went in the first four rounds of the 2008 MLB draft as Dennis Raben (second round to Seattle Mariners), Blake Tekotte (third round to the San Diego Padres) and Mark Sobolewski (fourth round to the Toronto Blue Jays) were selected.
“It’s probably the best thing to happen since we went to the College World Series,” Alonso said. “He brings to the table existing relationships with the players. He has great character. He’s very honest and best of all he knows hitting. He’s going to do real well for the program.”
Working with the catchers, Mercadante played a major role in developing the game-management skills of 2006 draftee catcher Eddy Rodriguez. Aided by Mercadante, Rodriguez made an easy transition into the Hurricanes’ position as a leader behind the plate in 2005. Rodriguez set career highs in every offensive category and carried that momentum into the 2006 season. Under Mercadante’s guidance, Rodriguez proved to be one of the country’s most complete catchers and was a finalist for the 2006 Johnny Bench Award, given to the annually to nation’s top collegiate backstop.
Mercadante joined the Hurricanes after coaching at P.K. Yonge High School in Gainesville, Fla. in 2004. He was a catcher for the University of Florida during the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
Mercadante graduated from P.K. Yonge High School in 1999. He was a four-year letterman for coach Bob Hawkins and was named the team MVP as a senior. Out of high school, he attended Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton, Ala., and helped lead the team to a JUCO Regional title and a berth in the Junior College World Series. He then transferred to Delgado Junior College in New Orleans for his sophomore season. Mercadante arrived at Florida in 2002 and hit .471 in a reserve role for the Gators. He missed most of his senior season due to injury before beginning his coaching career.
After serving as an assistant coach at P.K. Yonge in 2004, Mercadante coached summer baseball in the Virginia Valley League with the Covington Lumberjacks. During his stint with the Lumberjacks, Mercadante coached former Hurricane Brendan Katin, a 2005 24th-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Mercadante is a 2003 graduate of Florida, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management. He earned his master’s degree in exercise and sports science from Florida in June of 2006.
